Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Deep mahagony body pours with a moderate tan head that seems very dense and creamy. The head slowly fades to a more modest layer of foam that leaves a nice lacing on the glass. Sweet and fruity aromas are barely perceptible as the beer sits on the desk in front of me. Close up, a strong dark fruit and chocolate aroma similar to raspberry hot chocolate dominates the nose, but some smoky roasted notes and a bit of hops are present as well. The taste is phenomenal, with sweet malt, strong coffee, roasted malt, burnt marshmallows, and smoldering pine all assaulting my taste buds. Ghostlike alcohol esters hover above the action, filling the rest of my mouth with the prescence. But then the sultry body massages the tongue, and I seem to forget about the brash assault it just recieved. The only memory is a lingering smoked pine taste. Drinkability is very good. This is another masterful brew from Stone. Maybe I should go track down a case of the 7th Anniversary Ale, eh? This is truly a treat. (1,000 characters)

Appearance: The 6th Anniversary Porter pours a near-black inky darkness with only a miniscule amount of ruby highlights at the edge of the glass. Thick, long-lasting tan-colored head boils up initally, settles quickly to a thin layer yet manages to coat the glass nearly 100% as the glass emptied.

Taste: If the smell was great, the taste in mind-blowing. A simply fantastic combination of dark, bitter chocolate, toffee, coffee, "smoky campfire", roasted malts....everything combines into a symphony of flavor that was a joy to behold. Finishes with a sweet sugary bitterness that lasts and lasts, reminding you of what just crossed your palate.

Mouthfeel and Drinkability: Amazing how smooth a beer can be from a bottle. This one is like a big velvet Elvis painting shoved in your mouth. So very smooth and large in the body department. Quite low carbonation which adds to the creamy factor. The ABV is very subdued, making for a very easy-to-drink beer.

Gang...this is one kick-ass beer. A joy to experience. Huge thanks to the classy BA RoyalT for this gem. I am deeply indebted to him for all of the freat beers he has sent me so far. (1,329 characters)

Coming up on eight years old, I wasn't expecting this to be drinking so absolutely tastily, but it is, and feel compelled to write a review. Poured brown, dark, semi-translucent with a rich tan head that had a good amount of retention. Aroma is vinous, plum-like, with mild amounts of roast. Tastes of plums, smoke, deliciously roasted coffee, burnt malts, bready and some nice floral and cookie notes. This is tasting great. Body is medium, not as thick as maybe expected, but fits quite well for the fruity and roasty goodness this is. Hard to believe this wasn't bottled in the last year or so, drinking amazing, definitely worth searching out even today. (658 characters)

This is a beautiful beer. Pours almost black, with just a hint of ruby when backlit. But the head... the head is just perfect. About a finger-thick, light tan creamy head which lasts the whole way down. Really just exactly right.

The aroma is decent, smoky malts with a hint of fruit and a noticeable presence of alcohol. It's a bit over 8.0% ABV, and it shows. Essentially the only flavors that come through for me are a *very* smokey malt flavor, and a strong alcohol flavor. Together, these combine to leave a very heavy feeling in the throat. The two combined are altogether appropriate for the main body of the flavor, but balance could have been added by adding perhaps a bit more hop to the finish, or perhaps bringing out some fruity flavors in the middle. As it stands -- and God I hate to say this given Stone's *exemplary* journies in over-the-topness with its other beers -- this one is just a bit much for me.

Originally reviewed 31 August 2002.
Simply Beautiful. Explosions of coffee, chocolate & malt flavor. Smooth on the tongue, w/ a nice balance of malt & hops.
A special occassion beer for special occassions. Not meant for the novice, this is another big, beautiful beer from Stone (281 characters)

I had this beer on tap at Stone Brewing Days at the Stuffed Sandwich, 8-31-04. The beer is served with a thick and creamy head. It was so thick and creamy that it looked like tan wipping cream on top of the beer. It was beautiful. The beer is a super dark brown. Very little light actually shows through ther beer to distinguish a color. It has a sweet and grape aroma. The flavor is full of caramel, grape, and roasted sugars. It is an excellent porter once aged 2 years. (472 characters)

It's just a shade off black with a thick tan head. The smell is roasted malt with a hint of chocolate and very noticeable traces of alcohol. The smoke flavor is barely detectable at first but becomes a bit more pronounced as it warms. Unfortunately, the alcohol flavor also becomes more noticeable and overwhelms the more subtle fruity and smoky flavors. 8% abv just seems a bit high for a beer like this. Stone's smoked porter is more balanced and enjoyable. (459 characters)

Pours black with just the barest hints of light around the edges witha thick brown head that slowly fades and leaves a nice lace. Very roasted on the nose with nice big chocolatey tones along with some light smokiness and light piney hops. Wow, this brew is absolutely loaded with flavor. Nice hoppy bitterness is mixed in lightly at the start before the roasted and smokey maltiness comes into the picture in a big way. The tangy hoppiness rears its head again before the brew finishes with a nice malty sweetness with strong chocolate flavors left lingering on my tongue. Smooth, creamy and absolutely excellent. I could drink this stuff from sunup to sundown and not get tired of it, although I would be rather drunk. An excellent brew, standard fare from Stone though. Highly recommended. (792 characters)

This one pours dark black with a thick head and good retention. Aroma is sweet with notes of chocolate and vanilla. Smoke is way in the back. Full bodied and slightly syrupy. More like an Imperial Stout in my opinion. Very smooth and alcohol is well disguised by the roasty sweet malt. This is one heavy Porter bordering on a Stout. Has a slight bitter and dry finish. (368 characters)

In my AKSmoked review, I said "Smoke, to Alaskan Brewing Co. is less a flavoring and more a fining; it denatures any off flavors and bring to the forefront everything complex in a porter (subtleties often lost to the night)." The same can be said of Stone's 6th Anniversary Porter, but the smoke is used here to bring the hops, instead of the malt, to the forefront. The malt character is wholly profound -- deep with espresso and cocoa with a touch of cream -- but the remarkable burnt hop notes that are balanced by the smoke make this beer a classic. The smoke is much more subtle than AK. To take the most aggressive elements of beer (hops, dark malt, and fucking SMOKE) and make a beer this well-integrated makes no sense. Light fusel alcohol on the nose. This is less a beer and more an achievement.

I will age my other sample and see how it matures; smoke does quite a job in aging beer. Think classic roasted porter; think imperial stout (mid-palate); think flash-barbeque and put it all in a glass: Stone 6th Anniversary Porter.

An absolutely superb beer that I was lucky enough to have on tap at the Taphouse in Bellevue. The first thing I noticed was that absolutely inviting appearance of the beer which was jet black with a nice thick dark brown head. Hoppy and roasted smells rose from the glass. Upon the first sip, I knew I was in for a treat. The beer is a very big porter... lots going on here with complexity out the wazzoo. Bitterness is very noticeable but not heavy enough to drown out the malts. Malt flavors range form caramel to chocolate and roasted coffee to a smoky feel. The brew just fill your mouth with flavors and I wanted to keep drinking more to discover all the other hidden flavors. This beer has so much going on it truly is amazing. Cheers out to Stone for another quality brew. (788 characters)

A new review of this beer, exactly one year after my original review. Let's see how it aged. An extremely dark beer, pretty much black, as can be expected from this style. Thick mocha brown head that stays well. An aroma of caramel malt sweetness permeates the air, along with heavy roasted undertones, and a good amount of citrus hoppiness. Hop character has mellowed with the aging. As for the flavors, the hop bitterness isn't nearly as up-front as it was last year, but is more subtle and complex. Most notably, it's leafy. Still a major player. Lots of roasted flavor with caramel sweetness here and there. Chocolate maltiness has a big presence as well. Also detectable is a subtle smoked character, most noticeable with retro-olfaction. Very smooth and creamy, much moreso than last year. A bit of rind-like hop bitterness is left on the tongue in the aftertaste. I must say that a year of aging has done wonders for this beer, and I can only imagine what further cellaring could do. Another magnificent offering from Stone, who never fail to impress. (1,058 characters)

I finally found some of this at a local store and I am glad I did, this is quite a beer! It poured a almost black color with a great frothy brown head. The beer smelled of coffee, hops and chocolate. This one is a much bigger beer than their standard Smoked Porter, which I think is a great thing. The taste hits you right away with a great smoky flavor, which gives way to the great ruinous flavor of hops and finishes with a great bitter, chocolate/coffee flavor. Stone never lets me down!

Update 2/25/05

After about two and a half years of aging I decided to pull my last bottle of this great beer out. The flavors had mellowed a but but still had a distinct hop bite in the finnish. I think the smokiness has given way to more dark chocolate flavors and has aged very well. Exceptional beer that I wish I could get more of! (834 characters)

Label says its from August 2002. My local beer supply still has a few dozen on a shelf, lucky for me!!!!. Poured into a Duvel tulip with virtually no head, just a little lacing. Color is nearly black, with ruby dark cherry coming through at the edges of the glass. Aromas are characteristic Stone smokeyness, maltiness, a tad of alchohol. Tastes like a classic Stone with smoke, chocolate, jerky-like meaty flavor, medium maltiness- lightly sweet, Alchohol is well hidden. Hoppyness pulls it all together tightly. Solid as a stone. Mouthfeel is full and velvety. This could very well be my favorite Stone and one of my favorite beers. (634 characters)

Appearance: Deep brown with red highlights a full light brown rocky head and some residual lacing.
Aroma: Hops, malt, roasted grains, coffee and some wood (smoked?) background. Taste: Creamy sweetness with an intense hop finish. Coffee and roasted flavors come forth somewhere in the middle and finish.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, smooth, and oily with a biting finish. Lingering hop bitterness prevails.
IMHO: A beer with great qualities, but, alas, another over-hopped American take on a great European style (511 characters)

Mind you, I'm not a porter fan, although, I am a huge Stone fan, so anytime I see the words Stone and Anniversary in the same sentence, I know I'm on to something good. Well, I guess as far as porters good, this is about as good as they get. Deep dark, cola like appearance with a almost chocolaty aroma to it. Hints of coffee in the flavor, but a noticable hop pressence also. Porter fans should probably enjoy this one quite well, but this hophead will stick with something with a lot more bite to it. (503 characters)

Mouthfeel was okay, but a bit too thin. I would have really liked it if this were fuller.

Drinkability was strong. Sometimes roasty beers get tiresome... but I didn't have a problem with this one. Nice beer, probably on it's way downhill at the point though. Drink 'em if you've got 'em. (777 characters)

Ah, such sweet pleasure in life to have people so thoughtful as to show up on your doorstep after an extended period away with gifts in hand (of the unsampled, bottled variety)! A visitation of proportions, I tell you. Last year, it was the Stone 5th Ann. IPA (stupendous!!). This time, 6th Ann. Porter. Having forgiven all patience in waiting for a special occasion (oh yeah, I have another bottle yet!), I poured this 18 oz bottle straight away into a huge tankard and let it relax. Gorgeous black tickness with a thinly remaining head. Aroma was huge (fruity-raisin smell, sweet alcohol and peat-smoked nose). To-the-max taste with complexity of all ingredients. Has relations to differing styles, as the hop bittering is significant (and lingering when the beer is allowed to lazy on the tongue...), its roasted malt flavors are bold, and added ceremoniously and unapologetically kick-in-the-ass smoked malts lend intrigue. Mouthfeel is substantial. My summation = Stouts-son-Porter-from-Eidinburgh-intermix-with-Indias-Palest-Aleing-offspring-and-meet-to-trist-with?-some-xpat-fruity-Belgian?? Perhaps...and they all have smoking problems. A very unique beer with no faults to my taste. Immensely impressive. Reminds me of a Dylan song. (1,245 characters)

T: Wow. Possibly the best porter I've ever had, and that is saying a lot. I only wish I had more. Smoke, coffee, chocolate, maybe even roasted barley flavors, even though it doesn't fit the category. I would have killed to try this a couple years ago to see what 4 years of aging has done to it. Can't imagine it being better.

I could see why the Stone boys said this was one of, if not, their favorite beer they have brewed. They should definitely consider re-releasing this one. Much better than their standard smoked porter. (849 characters)

This is my first Stone brew and I'm beginning to see what all the hype is about. This porter is almost jet black with a nice mocha colored head with big bubbles.

The flavor is an overwhelming blend of unsweetened chocolate, lemon rind, burnt caramel, and espresso bean. This beer has a strong, bitter finish that leaves it a bit unbalanced for my taste and detracts somewhat from the drinkability. But it's an excellent interpretation of the style, nonetheless. The 8.01% abv is virtually unnoticable, except in your head and flush cheeks. Just a big, steamroller of a beer, all around. I'm anxious to try the other Stone brews. (631 characters)

stone 6th anniversary porter 8.01% abv. for this big of a beer very little alcohol notes. this porter pours with a great thick consistant, little lacey, almost kacki(sp) head with a deep, deep, deep, brown color. the aroma is of chocolate, and slightly smoky malt. the taste has a surprising hop bitterness that is balanced well with the amazing chocolate, carmely malt, it tastes slightly burnt though, it is a full bodied beast with long lasting mouthfeel bitterness on the palete. little alcohol taste, but for i would think it would be a little more prevalent in this beer for the ABV. well worth drink. so sweet. (617 characters)

This beer poured a thick black with a very thin lacy tan head. It appeared very chocolate black. Holding it up to the light, I could not noticed anything coming through.

The aroma of this was a great complex blend of chocolates, malts and hops. The scent was sharp to the nose, but very pleasing.

The taste was complex as well as it hits you with a powerful chocolate tart tast. It is almost like eating a sour tasting heavy chocolate candy bar. It is a very full tasting beer. The hop bitterness follows soon after and creeps down your tongue.

This beer would go great after dinner with a sweet desert. (612 characters)